The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

Comment Policy

All comments to posts have to await approval. Approval does not happen immediately. NOTE: Comments reflect the opinions of the person writing them and should not be assumed to reflect the opinion of the blog.

Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Another Outrageous PR Article in Town & Village, This Time About PCVST Landscaping

Shameful, but by now to be expected it seems, Town & Village has another CWCapital PR piece in this week's paper, this time about PCVST landscaping. It's not that there's an interview with the property’s director of horticulture and landscape, Chuck Hardsell Hartsell, who is just doing the bidding of his masters, CWCapital, but that editor/chief writer Sabina Mollot takes the company line about the conditions of the Oval without questioning them.

Quoting Sabina: "The planting was all part of a renovation that began shortly after
CWCapital took over the property in 2010. At that time the grounds were
overplanted and the Oval, which had drainage issues and swells and dips,
was in a condition that could be described as fair to poor."

Wrong, Sabina. The condition of the Oval before the redesign by CWCapital was not "fair to poor." In fact, the condition was just fine and many people, including myself (who used to spend considerable free time at the Oval), found the gardens and foliage and shading trees quite beautiful and very welcome.

Sabina even has the gall to continue with this astounding statement:

"But these days the Oval is doing much better, far better in fact than expected."

Oh, really, Sabina?

Well, let's take a look at "these days," in particular today, when I took photos of the Oval in the morning. I started at the northern side of the Oval and went around. Click on photos to make them larger.

There used to be a lush garden here:

Trees and foliage dominated this area:

This area, near the chess tables, used to be my favorite lunch hangout. Foliage and flowers insulated one with nature's beauty. No more, as can be seen by this barrenness:

The view from the chess tables. Not very inviting with the intrusion of the new Public Safety office:

The view straight on. Again, the new landscaping "motif" of barrenness rules, forcing one to be aware of the project-like buildings on the other side of the Oval.

The Ugly Offender. The new Public Safety office, with its generators, dominates this part of the Oval:

More of the Ugly Offender. Perhaps Mr. Hartsell can plant cabbages here:

There's no getting away from the blight that is the new Security Office area. I'm sure we'll be charged a new MCI for this, too!

The "barren motif" replaced the lush and lovely foliage and flowers that were here, in front of the the children's playground:

The "garden" area to the left of Oval Cafe. Well done, Mr. Hartsell:

There has been some temporary planting of flowers at parts of the Oval, small spaces where some color blooms. But in this case, at the Oval Cafe, help is needed. Calling Mr. Hartsell and his ace gardeners:

A tangent on our tour. No mention that the Oval Cafe is just for the use of "Residents and Their Guests." Thank you, Dan and CW.

The area near the western chess tables. Lush once, but no more. I do smell the invigorating odor of mulch, however:

The pathetic view from that side of the Oval:

So what do you think, Sabina? Is the Oval these days "doing much better, far better in fact than expected"? You've visited us many times in the past when the Oval was doing much better, and you know it. As I wrote earlier, shameful.

Account Manager

40 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I have no intention of renewing my subscription to T&V and I know that many of my long time neighbors feel the same way. It has pretty much been taken over by CW as another one of their marketing tools.

We have those ridiculous "Property Update" emails from management tooting their horns about Oval Atrocities, Greenmarket, bring in a friend (that one makes me laugh) and get paid a bounty, etc. We don't need more of their bullshit pushed at us.

According to the few honest groundskeepers they tore out the healthy tall trees and smaller ones alongside in the Oval to install underground wires for electrical needs of the commercial entities in the Oval especially the spy offices .... err I mean security offices. Had Sabina done mere due diligence of reporting she would have unearthed that.

The destruction of the landscaping of STPCV started under Tishman Speyer and has continued unabated under CW. And now they have the audacity to announce a major landscaping initiative. By the time they are done all we will have will be barren ground with occassional patches of weed- filled grass and mounds of stinking fertilizer

The past ten to twelve months of people featured and quoted in PCVST articles depict the team of those spinning the lies about the property and lying to the tenants. They have been working together all along to make it seem one way and to cover up what really was that they were doing.. Anyone getting their news from T&V is buying a load of BS.

OK, so we have doubt about Garodnick & the TA over Brookfield and doubt about the T & V over Garodnick, the TA and CW. And we have different demographics here that can be leveraged to achieve various purposes. Just get ready for some pretty good hardball.

6:51--my husband and I go all the time, yes, less for the "great" food, but for a place to sit outside in good weather, work with WiFi access, drink coffee, sit outside and interact with our neighbors. The major keys being tables, coffee and internet access with an ability to interact with our neighbors in a relatively beautiful outdoor, park-like setting.

I wonder if you are relatively new here? The "park-like" setting you refer to had been diluted by the addition of the "city-like" setting of amenity buildings, but in major part this setting has been severely marred by the placement of the huge eye-sore of the new Public Safety area and the removal of most of the plantings there were around the Oval. Yeah, on a nice day I go to the Oval too, but now, it's more a place to sit rather than place to contemplate the luxury of nature. The Oval Fountain is about the only thing on the Oval that is still of aesthetic value.

I agree, I love the fountain. You keep referring to the security outpost as an eyesore, but then you show a photo of the service/side of the building. It is ugly, but so many parts of a building's services are and they have to be put somewhere. That's not an example of commercialization though. The cafe is, and indeed, there needs to be a balance. I will say, we've been here about 5 years, so no, not a lifer, but to me, there are plenty of things to complain about, but some of this seems contrived. The cafe is fine. Not bad, and is a gathering place. It's not a true statement at all that no one wants it or uses it. Quite the opposite.

I remember a few years ago, TS put in like 1000s of trees, but put them like a foot apart!! It was ridiculous. Half of them died. I do miss that particularly lush space on the Oval across the paved path from where the cafe is, but that will come back soon enough (if they let it). Bushes and perennials can generally be easily moved, cut back (indeed, must be), often to the ground, and can get full quite quickly. Annuals, which are most flowers that don't grow as bushes, are just that, annuals and thus must be planted yearly. Bulbs have a five+ year life span, so any new ones they plant now will come back again and again.

I appreciate STR's passion but the big fish to fry isn't the landscaping and for many tenants may not even be the MCIs. It will be the upcoming sale. People ought to be discussing what they're hoping for out of this. Since the winning plan is bound to be a non-eviction plan, those who have absolutely no interest in buying need not take part in the discussion. They will remain under RS with all the strengths and drawbacks that RS currently has. But if you think you might like to buy, the questions we should put under discussion are: what type of plan & pricing would we like to see; do we have any leverage at all in this; if so, how to use that leverage; can we achieve unity; if so, how. The TA board has proposed a plan that it likes. Fine. That's 15 people. What do others think?

>>The cafe is, and indeed, there needs to be a balance. I will say, we've been here about 5 years, so no, not a lifer, but to me, there are plenty of things to complain about, but some of this seems contrived. The cafe is fine. Not bad, and is a gathering place. It's not a true statement at all that no one wants it or uses it. Quite the opposite.<<

By now the cafe and all the rest of the original amenities have been fully embraced as the "new new." At this point, I don't have an aesthetic problem with them and accept them, though others may have a different take. The Oval Study is particularly nice. I will, however, never accept the blight that is the new Security Office. With its massive side-hugging generators, it is overlarge for that area, and the dirt plaza in front of it is butt ugly and looks low-class. My guess is that somewhere along the line greenery will be planted, but I'm not sure anything can grow there with the devastation that was done to the ground.

I don't believe I've ever said that no one uses the cafe. Obviously people do, but I suspect that it's still a money loss, as evidenced by the fact that an application was made to sell alcohol. I was inside the cafe a few times, and it has a particularly ugly floor and there's music playing all the time, so it's not really an optimal place for me. I once bought coffee there and it was lukewarm. A waste of my money.

But the cafe does need to stick to the agreement made with Garodnick and follow zoning procedure by making sure that only "residents and their guests" can use it. Clearly, the cafe could care less about keeping to this agreement.

I'm not buying anything unless it is close to what I am paying now. The plumbing is the next to go. I can't imagine how much that's going to cost. PARTY ON!!!!!!!!That's the way they approve of things around here.

I disagree. The landscaping is a huge fish to fry. When Tishman Speyer bought the property they spent millions of dollars on landscaping using their "preferred" landscaping compNy who hiked up the prices on everything.

Then Rose came in and justifiably spent more money correcting the over planting Tishman Speyer did.

So what corrective work is being done now? What's left to correct? If Sabina wasn't asleep at the wheel and did done basic investigative work she'd have found the most recent work has everything to do with electrical projects and aesthetics and nothing to do with the trees killing each other. And well pay for it a THIRD time.

Yes, of course the landscaping is beautiful. That's why we love living here. It's all dwindling and going to be sold off piece by piece. Best to fight the underlying fight and problem here is what posters mean by bigger fish.

>>Personal attacks on employees are unacceptable. Mr H is not Management. The landscaping team employs veteran staff from Metlife days. Be kind.<<

So you think Mr. H, as someone who has been an accounts manager and property manager and who graduated in Business Admin, is the correct choice to be head of landscaping here? I doubt he is the person who makes the landscaping rules, but, if he is, he's a disaster.

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

The TA is basically done. Tenants can complain, but any action is negligible. The TA is effectively dead.

----------

"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

Follow by Email

Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!